Letters to the Editor, Nov. 1, 2012

On October 10th, the Executive Board of the Torrington Board of Education and the Superintendent questioned the appropriateness of my bi-weekly letters to the editor. They were concerned that my letters could potentially misrepresent the position of the Board. Our Board of Education By-Laws state that each individual board member will "Seek to facilitate ongoing communication between the Board and students, staff, parents and all elements of the community". My intent here was an attempt to do this, and to better inform the public on the many accomplishments of our students and our school district. For example, we gave recognition to commended students to the National Merit Scholarship Program at our full Board meeting on October 17th. Great stories like this sometimes fail to make headlines. Aside from a listed item on that week's Board of Education agenda, great stories like this sometime fail to make district news, even on our Torrington Public Schools website.

At the request of my town committee, I have been submitting similar articles to our committee blog for the past year. My goal there again was to shed a positive light on the district and to better promote transparency. The Executive Board and Superintendent of the Torrington Public Schools both feel that it would be fine for me to continue posting to those blogs.

So, it has been requested that I refrain from making any further submissions to the paper. Out of respect for the wishes of the Executive Board and the Superintendent, I will no longer be submitting letters to the editor regarding the Torrington Board of Education. I do however, implore the readers to attend our meetings so that they can get a bigger and much brighter picture of how great our schools are doing. In the meantime, my good friend Stephen Michna has been keeping busy on his commissions and will be able to provide you with updates in his upcoming letters.

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Respectfully,

--Vincent Merola, Torrington

Roberta Willis is the right candidate for the 64th

The Forum with Roberta Willis and Vivian Nasiatka at Cornwall Consolidated School was eye opening. Ms Willis was the only candidate with a clear understanding of a variety of issues. She was the only candidate who understood that complex issues are likely to require complex solutions. She also was the only one who could think on her feet and not simply revert to a small collection of financial 'talking points' for each question. Ms Nasiatka has a very narrow platform and she has the same solution for every problem: reduce spending and decrease regulation. As the saying goes, if all that you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. Ms Nasiatka responded almost entirely in generalizations; Ms. Willis demonstrated her depth and experience by providing facts and details. Ms Nasiatka struggled to fill her 'talking time' with coherent responses; Ms Willis gave logical, on-target responses, actually answering the questions asked.

The 64th Assembly District would be well served by re-electing Ms Willis, rather than replacing her with a newcomer with such a narrow and inarticulate view of the issues facing our state.

--John Hoffman, Lakeville

Torrington's future

Torrington has a rich history - one deeply rooted in manufacturing. As a Torrington resident, it comes as no surprise that I was raised to see manufacturing as a good and decent profession, one that provided jobs that paid a living wage and taught us that hard work can lead to owning your own home, providing for your family, and retiring with dignity.

My family members have worked in manufacturing for generations, at companies like Torrington Manufacturing, The Torrington Company, and Inertia Dynamics. As a recent college graduate who chose to return to Torrington, when so many of my friends and classmates have left for other states, I recognize the need for new manufacturing jobs to sustain our communities and to provide the types of jobs my grandparents had.

The fact of the matter is that my generation won't be able to retire in the same way my parents and grandparents will. Employers have moved away from pensions to 401k accounts, and have started cutting back on benefits packages. While this may just be a result of a down economy, it's unlikely that we'll see the return of employers that take care of their employees after a lifetime of service.

I'm writing this letter in support of Dan Seger, a first time candidate for public office who's running for the state senate. Dan has spent his entire life in manufacturing, starting as a machinist and working his way to Plant Manager. Dan's record of job creation is unlike any you'll find in Hartford - Dan's work with his company has created over 100 jobs in New Hartford. These are jobs that can sustain our communities for the next generation - state of the art manufacturing with contracts that keep jobs in America and in our community.

We need an advocate for what our communities stand for in Hartford. We need someone representing us that understands where we've come from and what has made our communities great. Connecticut provides some of the best-trained workers in the country, and we're losing them to bordering states. Dan recognizes the need to bring new life into our existing infrastructure and can bring that experience to the Senate in a way few others can.

I urge you to vote for Dan Seger on Nov. 6 because we can't neglect our past to create our future.